- Docente: Luisa Mengoni
- Credits: 6
- SSD: SECS-P/01
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: In-person learning (entirely or partially)
- Campus: Ravenna
- Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in International Cooperation, Protection of Human Rights and Cultural Heritage (cod. 8889)
Learning outcomes
The course aims to give an understanding of the economic systems of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries, through the analysis of their process of development and of their recent performance. The student should be able, at the end of the course, to use the acquired knowledge to the study of the economies of the different countries, to understand the peculiar issue that characterize the area, to evaluate policies implemented during the last decades to copy with the development process and to suggest policy recommendation.
Course contents
1) Key macroeconomic variables
The characters of economic systems
Institutions and institutional change
2) The Middle East and North Africa Region
The Mediterranean as a metaphor: the unity and diversity of the Region
From the Mediterranean to the MENA (Middle East and North Africa)
The Development of the Area and the EU policies
3) The development process in the area: economic performance and policies of the last 50 years
The transition to capitalism
"Late comers" and "first comers"
The role of institutions
The dialectic state and society in the Islamic tradition and in the post-colonial era
4) Demographic and development dynamics
The demographic transition process
The "new demography of the region": challenge or opportunity?
Demographic dynamics and economic impact
5) The labor market and human capital in the region
The education system
Labor markets: structures and characters
Unemployment, skill mismatch and possible solutions
6) The openness of the region and the process of integration
Trade liberalization and development in the Mediterranean
The recent developments in the integration process: from multilateralism to regionalism
From "soft" to "deep" integration: economic, political and social integration
Migration and trade: complements or substitutes?
7) Migration and local development in the area
Migration, remittances and local development
The future of migration in the Mediterranean
7) Conclusions and future development prospects in the Mediterranean Basin
Towards an Islamic model of development?
Impact and prospects of the Arab Spring
Readings/Bibliography
Romagnoli, A. Mengoni L. (2013), The Economic Development Process in the Middle East and North Africa, Routledge, Ottobre 2013.
Maddison A. (1995), Le forze dello sviluppo capitalistico, Milano, Giuffrè, CAP.1-4.
Franco Volpi (2007), Lezioni di economia dello sviluppo, Franco Angeli. Cap. 1,2.Gregory, Stuart (2004); Comparing Economic Systems in the 21°century, Houghton Mifflin Company. Cap.1.
Rapporto sulle Economie del Mediterraneo, Edizione 2015, E. Ferragina, Il Mulino.
In aggiunta verranno indicati durante il corso saggi e letture integrative.
Assessment methods
Written exam (open questions)
For class attendance the assessment method will be decided at the beginning of the lectures.
Teaching tools
Laptop/projects/open discussion
Office hours
See the website of Luisa Mengoni